Application of removable information/advertising indicia

ABSTRACT

A method for application of information/advertising in the form of foil/stickers on a conveyor belt in cashier counters in grocery stores, at airports, etc., includes the application of heat/pressure by a press which presses down parts of the conveyor belt, thus forming recesses in the conveyor belt, and in these recesses there are placed removable foil/stickers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for applyinginformation/advertising in the form of foil/stickers to a conveyor belt.The conveyor belt can be employed in cashier counters in grocery shops,at airports, etc.

In U.S Pat. No. 4,979,591 there is disclosed a conveyor belt for acashier counter, wherein information/advertising indicia have beenapplied to the conveyor belt. A special print is transferred by transferprinting to the outer surface of the belt by the application of colourand adhesive from an underlying paper at a temperature of 120-160° C.and a pressure of 2-6 bar during a pressure period of 10-60 seconds. Inthis case, therefore, a protective film must be employed if the productis to be effective.

In the applicant's Norwegian patent application no. 950791 there isdisclosed a method for applying information/advertising indicia to acashier counter's conveyor belt. In this application a better quality ofinformation/advertising is provided by the use of a special print typewhich permits detailed motifs, combined with a printing technique wherethe print is melted into the conveyor belt, thus becoming an integratedpart of it and consequently cannot be torn or worn off, which results ina quality print which is expected to have a lifetime of up to 2 years.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a further development of the applicant'sNorwegian patent application no. 950791. As indicated in the followingdrawing description, the special foil/stickers can be employed onconveyor belts by means of appropriate means such as by means of aheat/pressure press which presses down parts of the conveyor belt, thusforming recesses in the conveyor belt and that removable foil/stickersare inserted into these recesses. The recesses in the belt may be up to0.5 mm deep, and the foil/stickers may be thinner than or equal to 0.5mm. This prevents the foil from being torn off when the belt goes roundthe rollers on, e.g., a cashier counter due to the fact that the foildoes not exceed the conveyor belt's own thickness. The foil/stickers maybe applied for a campaign and removed when it is over without destroyingor reducing the quality of the conveyor belt. However, the foil/stickersare securely fixed during the campaign period. The recesses in theconveyor belt can be cleaned and coated with a chemical agent to ensurethat the removable foil/stickers are securely fixed to the conveyorbelt. A suitable agent may be an alcohol, such as isopropanol, whichforms chemical bonds and alters the structure of the surface of theconveyor belt.

For its part the conveyor belt consists of 4 layers, with a PVC layer ontop, then a sheet, a new PVC layer and finally a sheet, as illustratedin FIG. 2.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail in the followingdescription of the invention with reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates information/advertising in the form of afoil/sticker,

FIG. 2 illustrates the construction of the conveyor belt,

FIG. 3 illustrates a conveyor belt with information/advertising applied,mounted in a cashier counter,

FIG. 4 is a lateral section of a conveyor belt with recesses where thefoil/sticker is inserted in these recesses, mounted in a cashiercounter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Thus FIG. 1 is a perspective view of information/advertising in the formof a foil/sticker 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conveyor belt 2a,together with its construction where the top layer is PVC 4, the nextlayer is a sheet 5, followed by a new PVC layer 6 and finally a sheet 7.FIG. 3 illustrates how a conveyor belt 2a looks mounted in a cashiercounter 2 after information/advertising has been applied. FIG. 4 showsin a lateral view how a conveyor belt 2a looks mounted in a cashiercounter 2 after information/advertising has been applied in the form offoil/stickers 1 in recesses in the conveyor belt, where these recesseshave been formed by means of a heat/pressure press. The conveyor belt 2awhich thereby acts as a display surface for foil/stickers 1 may therebycontain clear information for the customer, e.g. as to whether paymentis accepted at this cash point in the form of credit cards, or thecustomer/staff can be reminded that it is illegal to buy/sell, e.g.,beer/tobacco to minors, while at the same time the opportunity isoffered to apply a desired advertising message to the conveyor belt 2aduring the campaign period.

When applied, the method for providing information/advertising on aconveyor belt according to the invention will provide the customers of,e.g., grocery shops with good, clear information on which products andservices are being offered/provided through the shop during the campaignperiod, while at the same time providing the suppliers of goods andservices with the opportunity of informing the customers of theexistence of their products and services etc. While waiting to pay, thecustomer will have the opportunity to read the advertisement or themessage which is displayed on the viewing surface. Moreover, the shapeand size of the conveyor belt and recesses are dependent on the purpose.When applied at airports for transporting people over great distances,the shape and size of the conveyor belt and recesses for foil/stickersmay necessarily be different to those used for cashier counters ingrocery stores.

Reasonable variations and modifications can be performed in thecombination and the arrangement in the method which is indicated in thedescription and illustrated in the drawings without deviating from thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for applying information/advertising inthe form of foil/stickers to a conveyor belt in cashier counters ingrocery stores, at airports, etc., characterized in that a heat/pressurepress is employed which presses down parts of the conveyor belt, thusforming recesses in the conveyor belt, whereupon removable foil/stickersare inserted in the recesses.
 2. A method according to claim 1,characterized in that the surface of the foil/sticker used does not haveupwardly projecting edges which rise above the conveyor belt's ownsurface/height and thereby cannot be torn off.
 3. A method according toclaim 1, characterized in that foil/stickers become an integrated partof the conveyor belt's surface and/or material when they are applied. 4.A method according to claim 2, characterized in that foil/stickersbecome an integrated part of the conveyor belt's surface and/or materialwhen they are applied.